


Theoretical, Hypothetical

by bluestle_gold



Category: Blue Beetle (Comics), Booster Gold (Comics), Justice League International (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fraternity, Booster can't do learning but he's trying, Dan Garrett can't be trusted to teach anything, M/M, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Ted Kord the reluctant TA, eventual boostle, football player Booster, frat bros being frat bros, more tags will appear as the story unfolds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-18
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-08-31 17:54:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8588131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluestle_gold/pseuds/bluestle_gold
Summary: Booster Gold is not college material. If not for his football scholarship, he’d probably never have stepped foot on campus. And with his grades, he’ll be lucky to last a semester.At least his tutor’s a low key babe. 
Slow building Boostle in a college setting.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Tagged explicit because it will be, just not in chapter 1. 
> 
> It's been a while since I've done something with chapters...  
> Also this isn't beta'd, apologies for any errors.

It’s late. The lab is empty, dark save for some lamps illuminating a steel table covered in various beakers and burners. The question arises from the pile of abandoned clothes and a makeshift lab coat blanket: “Do you believe in love?”

One body shifts under the lab coat, skin brushing skin as the body stretches, becomes more comfortable lying against the one that had spoken first. “As a theoretical concept, sure. Love - in the sense of desire, want, greed - that’s real. It can also be seen as a chemical reaction caused by elevated adrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine levels, so that scientifically proves that love is real-” 

A hand clamps over the speaking mouth. “No, no, I mean. Like. Can you see yourself falling in love with someone you just met?”

“Hypothetically?” comes muffled by the sweaty palm.

“Yeah, Hypothetically.”

There’s a pause, another shift of body weight, and the sound of lips caressing lips. “...Yeah. 

Theoretically, hypothetically, yes.”

\---

Higher education, Booster thought, as his roommate’s alarm blared at fuck-knows in the morning, was a rip-off. 

He held in a groan and buried his head under his pillows as his roommate flicked the lights on. 

All of the lights. What an asshole-

A heavy weight being dropped on his blanket-bundled lump of a form was enough to fully wake him, enough even to cause him to yank himself out of bed to confront the other guy. 

“Dude what the fuc-!”

“We’ve got practice in twenty,” his roommate - cocky, ginger asshole of a jock who’s name was just so lame that Booster had already forgotten it - cut him off, as he made his way to the en-suite bathroom. “After today, it’s not my problem if you’re late.”

Booster closed his mouth with a sharp click as the guy - Guy! That was it - shut the door behind him. 

He rubbed at his tired eyes as he committed to rolling out of bed, muttering curses towards Guy with a sigh. Anything that got him up this early in the morning couldn’t be worth it. 

\---

He let his head hit the tabletop with a loud smack, his backpack falling into a mostly-empty sag by his feet in the same motion. Two hours of practice. Two hours of running sprints and burpees at the ass-crack of dawn.

It’ll be worth it, he thought to himself as his muscles ached. Sure, it was more of the same shit he’d done in high school so far, but he could handle this. It’d all be worth it, eventually.  
The thoughts of college parties and college girls and his scholarship money inspired a small smile against the smooth desk surface. Yeah, one day, fame, money, and babes would make everything worth it.

Until then, he’d just have to suffer through practices and classes like everyone else. 

Speaking of classes…

He lifted his head off the desk, glancing around the classroom. What class was this? Booster rummaged through his (somehow already cluttered) backpack until he found his crumpled course schedule. 

Archaeology and anthropology… Well, unless Indiana Jones showed up soon, Booster was writing this class off as an easy A and bordering on pointlessly boring. 

The fifteen minute mark to freedom ticked closer with still no sign of the professor. Booster watched as other classmates began to give up on him ever showing, slowly shoving books and untouched notebooks back into their bags, only for the door to swing open with a cracking bang against the wall. 

The class flinched. Booster wondered how big the dent in the wall was. 

The man who’d entered was definitely not Indiana Jones or any other incarnation of Harrison Ford (Booster took a second to mourn Hollywood’s wasted opportunity), but he definitely wasn’t hard on the eyes. 

Dressed like he’d lost a fight to a thrift shop, the young man was a bit on the pudgy side; not unfit looking, but definitely not a man who went out of his way to hit the gym or avoid a cheeseburger. And emphasis on young; the guy looked like he should be sitting at one of the desks with the rest of the class, not struggling to hold onto a stack of papers and textbooks as he shuffled around near the whiteboard. 

He flashed the class an awkward smile, dropping his pile of paper products onto the front desk with another loud bang, pausing to shove - were those safety goggles? - up his forehead and into his crazed and soft looking hair-

Wait. Soft looking hair? Booster mentally smacked himself. Was he seriously checking out his professor?

No, no, no. He was just. Observing. If he was checking the guy out, he’d be thinking about how his ass looks pretty amazing even in his ill-fitting dad jeans when he turned to scribble something up on the board-

Goddamn it. 

“-for the wait,” safety goggles was saying as he turned back to the class, that sheepish smile still curling his lips in a way-too pleasingly laid back way. “Professor Garrett got caught up in…” He shook his head, shrugging a little. From just the look on this guy’s face, this probably wasn’t the first time he’d had to make excuses for Garrett. “Anyway, he’ll either show up in a little while or he’ll just meet you all next class. I’m Ted; Professor Garrett’s TA and probably the person who will be teaching most of his lessons to you. That’s my email if you have any questions throughout the semester…” 

He waved his hand at the board behind him before grabbing the stack of papers on the desk, beginning to pass out the class syllabus as he continued to talk.

“-study of humanity blah blah, midterm, blah, final project…” 

Booster didn’t hear any of it. He was too busy cursing himself out for getting lost in the guy’s eyes. He couldn’t believe himself. It was the first day and he was already fixating on some guy who he didn’t even know. What happened to the babes?

Apparently time flies when you’re mentally beating yourself up; Booster was jolted from his thoughts as the students around him began to pack up over the sound of Ted shouting their reading assignment for next class. Booster yanked his backpack onto his shoulder and hurried out the door, pretending he couldn’t feel the grad student’s eyes on his back as he left. 

\---

Booster had been smart when he was making his schedule. All morning classes meant that his afternoons and nights were free. While it had seemed like a good idea at the time, only two days into the semester, he found himself growing bored with all of the extra time. 

He was currently napping in the middle of the quad; the early September sun still strong enough to warrant his current state of shirtlessness. 

And, honestly, he didn’t need an excuse to show off his body.

Blaring pop music startled him awake; somewhere much too close to him, a set of speakers were practically begging for mercy as the bass shook Booster to the core. He sat up, searching for the source, and found a table (and speakers) had been set up not too far away. He scowled, trying to see what they were selling without moving from his spot on the grass. 

A group of people were crowded around the table, handing out fliers to interested passer-bys, all wearing brightly colored t-shirts, embroidered with Greek lettering- 

Ah. That was it. 

Booster was no stranger to the idea of Greek life organizations. He’d seen enough movies to understand. “Families” of college-aged dudes and chicks living together in houses filled with too much testosterone or estrogen, late night ragers advertising alcohol poisoning and cheap drug cocktails, sweaty basements and slutty babes-

The number one ticket to partying your way through college. Booster was so down for that. 

He pushed himself to his feet, not bothering to put his shirt back on before walking toward the table. It wasn’t until he was almost standing at the table that he recognized a familiar face.

The hot not-professor from his Archaeology class was currently manning the sign-up sheet, using his winning smile to coax a group of girls to add their names. From the looks of it, he’d at least won one of them over, who was attempting to help the TA convince her friends. 

“I thought you needed to be a student to be a frat guy.”

The words were out of Booster’s mouth before he could stop them. They hung in the air between him and the TA, who’s full attention was now on Booster instead of the babes in front of him. 

The practical sparkle in the man’s eyes weren’t lost behind the ridiculous safety goggles he was still sporting, and his grin only widened at the verbal attack. He laughed quietly, shaking his head as he straightened up and slid closer to Booster. 

“Technically, I’m alumni, but they still let us old timers hang around,” he said casually, shrugging his shoulders. “Thinking about signing up, stellar pecs?”

Booster’s eyes widened slightly, a light blush beginning to stain his cheeks. Stellar pecs? Was the guy hitting on him?!

Was Booster opposed to the guy hitting on him?

The TA noticed his discomfort immediately and began backpedalling, shaking his head as a blush of his own - much darker than Booster’s - spread across his face and down his neck. “I didn’t mean- I mean- Your tat-”

Oh. Booster’s hand pressed against the ink just off-centered on his chest. A watercolor tattoo of a gold and blue star rested over his heart; a gift to himself for graduating high school. He couldn’t help the nervous laughter bubbling up in his lungs. 

“And here I thought you were complimenting my body,” he teased. “I’m practically an Adonis, wouldn’t you say?”

The TA blinked at him, his embarrassment fading away as his grin returned to his face. “Actually, I’m just a fan of body art,” he bantered smoothly. “Been looking for a good artist lately; I’ve got a few ideas I’d like to mark my skin with.”

The football player laughed, extending his hand. “Michael Carter; friends call me Booster.”

“Ted Kord,” the TA introduced, shaking his hand. His fingers were calloused, and Booster noticed that light blue polish was chipping away from his short nails. “Maybe now you’ll pay attention in class.”

Booster was about to respond to the teasing when he heard someone shout his name. He turned in time to catch a football against his chest, grunting softly as he leaned back against the table for support. Guy was waving from across the quad, walking closer to the table.

“Yo, goldie! Your arms broken? Pass back!”

Booster missed the way Ted rolled his eyes as he grinned at the ginger, pushing himself away from the table. “Patience, bowl-cut,” he shouted back, turning back to scribble his name and email down onto the sign-up list. 

“Message me sometime,” he hummed, giving Ted his sunniest grin before taking off across the quad toward Guy, leaving Ted to stare after him. 

Maybe he was getting his hopes up, but Michael Carter was nothing if not a risk taker.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer and later than expected.   
> Whoops?

Ted Kord was a man of plans, of thinking through every possible outcome for any possible situation. Or, at least, that’s what he told himself. In reality, he was a man of impulse and irrationality, always ready to throw himself headfirst into a situation and then think of a way out on the spot.

This behavior, unfortunately, had led him to where he was now: hunched over a lab bench, fingers digging into his scalp, as he stared at the email on his laptop. If only he’d considered this to be a possibility; if he hadn’t already made up his mind…

But had he, really? Was he really sure he was making the right choice? What was a spur-of-the-moment decision against such an improbable offer?

Wasn’t this whole ability to doubt his decision enough proof that he hadn’t made up his mind at all about anything?

His father’s name was scrawled in a fancy digital signature at the bottom of the computerized letter, professional and as impersonal as a father’s name could be. Ted found his eyes locked on the pixelated letters, unable to scroll back up and read the words he’d already memorized.

It was an invitation, a silent handout from a distant paternal figure. It was a job application; a promise of stability and a position of power in a far-reaching company.

The idea of accepting made Ted’s gut twist and bile rise in his throat.

Who did this man think he was, reaching out after years of absence, finally offering Ted a position in the company, something that was his  _ birthright, _ seeing how the company bore his family name, right as Ted had already decided to-

The door to the lab opened with a soft click, and Ted sat up straighter, changing tabs back to the research paper he had been writing. He didn’t turn, not until Dan’s familiar shadow fell over his shoulder as the older man skimmed the paragraph he was pretending to work on.

“Don’t tell me you’ve been holed up here all day,” the older man teased, glancing out the window at the night-darkened sky.

“Unlike you, I have a life outside of my research,” Ted retorted, closing his laptop with a soft smack. “Class went fine today, by the way. You’re really setting an example, y’know. First day and no professor? I’ll be surprised if anyone shows up next class.”

“They’ll be there,” Dan hummed, moving to sit on the empty tabletop by Ted’s side. “Funny thing about undergrads: they’ll attend even the worst classes for an easy A.”

“Having an easy A class isn’t an accomplishment,” Ted muttered, leaning back in his chair. “What’re you still doing here, anyway? Research?”

Dan nodded, grinning at his TA. “Going over photos of artifacts from that last trip to Bialya,” he clarified, always excited to talk about his work to any ear that paid attention for more than a minute. “We found this temple; wasn’t on any of the previous maps…”

Ted let the man ramble, half listening and half caught in his own head, thoughts swirling around the email, around the future… He chewed at his lip, toying with the strap on his goggles - a permanent fixture on his forehead as he lost them otherwise - as he nodded at what he thought was the appropriate times.

A position at his father’s company. A real job in a state-of-the-art lab (one of the world’s finest, honestly), with financial stability, and also the chance he’d used to dream about to leave his own mark on the family business. Not to mention he could use the equipment and the resources only available to KORD Industries employees and continue his projects, actually  _ build _ instead of blueprint, stop researching and actually make a difference in the world with his machines, get out of his father’s shadow and make a name for  _ himself- _

Dan’s voice suddenly pulled him back to the present and made him remember how he’d gotten as far as he already had. This man before him, the comforting presence of a paternal figure he’d never found in his own father. Dan, the one person who had been there for him when nobody else had been, who had urged him forward instead of pulling him back…

He owed Dan everything he had and more, a fact that should’ve made his father’s email a pointless little blip on his radar instead of a viable career possibility.

“...see it for yourself when we go back.” The man was grinning at him now. The professor had been overjoyed by the sheer fact that Ted had told him traveling to Bialya was even a  _ possibility _ . He’d been ready to fly them out immediately when Ted had finally agreed to accompany him and work as his assistant on his digs.  And, until the email had come, Ted had seen that trip as an inevitability. A chance to see first-hand what his friend (and the man supporting his education financially) was doing, to help him write his books and continue his own research.

Ted grinned back at him as his stomach twisted again. The trip had been an impulsive and hasty promise that had secured him a spot in the graduate program at one of the best schools in the country. Now, versus an offer of financial and familial stability, and eight months to make his decision... He could do this…

“C’mere,” Dan was saying, catching Ted’s attention again as he made his way out of the lab. “I meant to show you earlier…” He continued to talk as he left the room, and Ted scrambled after him, grabbing his laptop and backpack as an afterthought. Dan was disappearing into his office already as Ted followed him into the hall, still talking. “-find the significance of it yet, but here, just take a look. It’s in almost perfect condition, save a crack or two…”

Ted watched as Dan opened one of his locked filing cabinets and pulled out a clear plastic box. Preserved inside was an object about the size of Ted’s fist, and the student abandoned his bag on a chair for a better look.

“The temple - that’s what we think the place was, anyway - was covered in scarab drawings, carved and painted into the walls and the floor,” Dan explained, holding the box out to Ted, who shook his head, content to look and not touch the artifact. “If this had been in the center of the room - you remember the photos of that altar, right? - I’d think it was a religious thing, but I almost didn’t find it. It was in a pile of rocks in a corner, like someone’d thrown it there centuries ago and just… forgotten.” He shrugged, grinning sheepishly. “Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to take it from the site, but I wanted to see if any of the other faculty could shed some light on what it’s for, or even what it’s made of. A picture wouldn’t have done it justice.”

Ted nodded, eyes locked on the scarab. “It looks like jewelry,” he mused. “Made of some sort of stone or an uncut  jewel?” He shrugged. “We could run a few tests on the material, but as for the purpose, I’ve got nothing.”

Dan was nodding along with what Ted was saying, setting the box down on his desk. “That’s what I was afraid of,” he sighed. “I don’t want to chip away at it, but I’m assuming you’ll need a physical sample?” Ted grunted his agreement and Dan scribbled on a nearby post-it note to remind himself to do so in the morning. “Right. Well, I didn’t expect to get any farther with this pet project tonight. You think it’s too early in the semester to have the undergrads begin their research project? I’m trying to think up a lesson plan…”

Ted sighed, smiling softly as he watched Dan putter around his office. The younger man grabbed a packet of papers from his backpack, handing it to his mentor. “This is your lesson plan,” he assured. “I wrote it up last week; I knew you’d forget. Just stick to this, alright?” His smile turned teasing as he stage-whispered, “Your cover is safe, Doctor Jones. Lemme run the class; you concentrate on raiding all the pretty beetles from the temples.”

Dan stared at him for a moment before laughing, shaking his head as he wrapped an arm around Ted’s shoulders. “What’d I do without you, Kord?” he huffed, shaking his head as he took the syllabus packet.

“Probably nothing productive,” Ted taunted, grinning at Dan as he playfully shoved him away. “C’mon, old man. I’m sick of campus and this new deli just opened up downtown…”

“Read my mind, Kord,” Dan agreed, the two of them moving to leave the office. “I’m starving.”

Eight months, Ted thought as he followed Dan down to the parking lot. Eight months, two semesters, to decide if he was going to finish his education and travel halfway across the world, or go crawling back to his father.

Eight months…

\---

“So you  _ are _ still alive,” Skeets’ voice crackled through the shitty dorm wifi connection. Booster’s childhood friend could barely be seen through the outdated webcam; he was barely a smudge in the badly lit bedroom Booster could remember wasting too many hours in. “Almost two weeks of radio silence, Boost. I thought academia had finally done you in.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you,” Booster scoffed, idly flipping through the textbook open on the desk next to him. He was alone in the dorm room, Guy having abandoned him the moment his astronomy club buddies had given him a better offer. Booster decided not to dwell on how his roommate’s absence made him realize that he was spending more and more time alone…

“-lo, earth to Booster!” Skeets groaned. “What’d you call me about anyway?”

Booster shrugged, glancing between his computer and the textbook. And the phone on top of the open pages. Ted had emailed him - well, Ted’s fraternity had - about a recruitment event that Friday, and maybe he’d needed some advice from a familiar face.

“What, I can’t just be all emotional and homesick and wanna talk to an old friend?”

“If you were anyone but you, I’d believe that,” Skeets scoffed. “Really, Boost. What do you need?”

The football star shrugged again, chewing his lip for a moment. Where to begin… “Okay. So there’s this really hot TA-”

“D cups? Brunette?”

“What?”

“You’ve got a type is all. Just seeing if she fits the pattern.”

Booster spluttered for a moment, collecting himself. “It’s a guy.”

“Oh.” Booster wanted to press that ‘oh’ a bit, but Skeets continued, “So what’s the deal?”

“Well. Well, he’s this  _ genius _ ! He basically teaches the class ‘cause the professor can’t be bothered to show up sometimes or something, he’s a grad student who I’m pretty sure has degrees in science shit  _ and  _ math and now he’s working on an archaeology or anthropology major or something I don’t really know but this guy’s like  _ crazy  _ smart. Plus he’s in a frat - a  _ frat  _ guy, Skeets , I’m crushing on a  _ frat guy  _ \- plus he’s got this  _ laugh- _ ”

“Okay that’s enough,” Skeets cut him off, snickering at his friend. “So you’ve got it bad for this TA. So what? You’re Michael freakin’ Carter-”

“ _ Booster freakin’ Gold _ -”

“-Whatever. The point is, what’s holding you back from just  _ going for it _ ? You’ve never let anything stop you from going after someone you want before, why’s this guy different?”

“That’s the thing,” Booster groaned, dramatically throwing himself backwards into the backrest of his chair. “I don’t  _ know _ what’s different! Nothing really seems different at all. I’m totally into him and I’m  _ pretty sure _ he’s into me, too, or this redhead but I can totally win him over…” He trailed off, spinning slightly in his chair. “Why is he different…”

“Dunno,” Skeets hummed, munching on something if the static through his mic meant anything. “Maybe he’s different ‘cause for once you’re thinking with your heart and not your dick?”

“I barely know the guy,” Booster muttered into his hands. “I’m definitely still thinking with my dick.”

Skeets snickered. “Look, why don’t you just get to know him or something? Hang out one on one, get coffee or something. Just, for once, don’t run into this and let it burn out like you always did back in high school. College is like a fresh start, right?”

Booster nodded, glancing back at the email still open on his phone.

“Thanks, Skeets,” Booster murmured, only half catching his friend’s farewell as he ended the call. He only had eyes for his phone and the confirmation he was typing.

\---

Friday couldn’t come soon enough.

Booster’s head was currently face-down on his desk, groaning softly as the fake wood grew warm under his flushed face. Stupid coach and his stupid training exercises… Guy had gotten up for practice without waking Booster in the process, causing the blond to not only run late for training, but subsequently also causing him to run late for Garrett’s class when Coach made him stay late for more laps. ‘To catch up’, the sadist had claimed. Booster was pretty sure the guy just enjoyed torturing freshmen.

Professor Garrett had decided to attend this class, and was currently up at the board talking about their papers. They had handed them in last week, and the thought of getting the assignment back was making Booster’s guts churn. His first grade received in college, in a class where he was crushing hard on the TA. He’d be lucky if he even answered the right question.

“-very proud of you, overall,” Garrett was saying, smiling at the students that looked much less enthusiastic about making their professor proud. “For a class of incoming freshmen, I’m incredibly impressed by your abilities to write at the college level. That being said, I grade more for content than grammar, and there you need a bit of work.”

The class groaned softly as Garrett began to pass back their papers, mumbling amongst themselves as they compared grades. From what Booster could hear, nobody was thrilled with what they’d earned. His stomach clenched harder.

When Garrett placed his graded paper on the desk by his head, Booster uncurled himself, snatching up the paper before anyone could lean over and see what he’d earned.

A bright blue D was printed at the top, and his lip curled with disgust as he shoved the paper into his notebook. There were other notes scribbled around on the pages, but he didn’t bother to read the comments. He did, however, note that the handwriting didn’t match Garrett’s scrawl across the blackboard.

The ache in his intestines lessened slightly when he realized Ted must have been the one to grade the papers. He’d been looking for an excuse to talk to the TA, and there it was, in bright blue and already negatively impacting his GPA.

The rest of the class went by in a blur as Booster waited to be dismissed. The second students began to leave, he made a beeline for Ted. The TA was still sitting off to the side, where he’d been diligently taking notes on Professor Garrett’s lesson. Booster grabbed a chair from a nearby table, swinging his leg over it as he leaned forward against the backrest and into Ted’s space. The TA raised an eyebrow, smirking over his laptop.

“Can I help you?”

Booster grinned, letting it fall away quickly as he feigned dramatics. “Oh, I hope you can! See, this awfully mean TA gave me this horrible grade on my first paper ever-”

“I’m sure he gave you the best mark possible,” Ted hummed, grinning as he played along. “It probably would’ve gone better for you if you’d read the prompt at all.”

“There was a prompt?” Booster’s eyes widened. “Damn. Really?”

Ted had the gall to laugh. “Yep. On the syllabus. Every week has a different prompt, each due on Wednesday. I’d suggest reading them over before next week.”

Booster huffed. So his plan to flirt with the TA turned into him looking like an idiot… This wasn’t something completely new. He could work with this. “I just didn’t understand the assignment,” he tried. “Maybe I need a private tutor…” He put emphasis on ‘private’, leaning just a bit farther across the desk…

Ted choked, on his own spit or a laugh, Booster wasn’t sure, but the man recoiled slightly, face red behind his dumb goggles as he ducked his head. “I don’t tutor,” he said after a moment, lifting his head once he’d felt the red heat fade from his cheeks.

“Not even for a special case?” Booster needled. “For friends?” He let himself seem more vulnerable than he really felt. Not much more, he realized with another gut-churn. He definitely wouldn’t mind being friends with Ted if this whole flirting thing fell through. For all he knew, Ted really did have a thing for that redhead girl and this whole attempt at flirtation was pointless.

“I mean, I don’t know you that well, but I was thinking, because of that email invite…”

Ted’s eyes widened, suddenly brighter. “The recruitment event? Did you RSVP?”

Booster nodded, smiling as Ted smiled. “Yeah, I did. You gonna be there?”

“Yep,” the TA assured. “Alumni are invited, too. Most don’t get involved with recruitment, but I’m still pretty close with most of the undergrads. I only graduated last semester.”

“So you’re like, what, a freshmen grad student?”

“Sure, if you wanna put it that way.” Ted shrugged, getting to his feet to pack up his bag as a tap at the door caught their attention. By the door was the redhead girl that Booster had seen with Ted throughout the last two weeks. She offered Booster a polite smile before wheeling herself into the classroom, full-on glaring at Ted.

“We’ve got a schedule,” she reminded, stern but not unkind. Her glare was already falling away to a soft smile as Ted finished collecting his gear.

“I know, I know,” he murmured sheepishly, slinging his bag over his shoulder before turning back to Booster. “So I’ll see you Friday, then?”

Booster paused, lost for a moment before nodding. “Friday. Right.” He grinned. “Can’t wait.”

Ted turned to the girl then, the two of them heading out as Ted continued to apologize for putting them behind.

“So who’s the cute freshie?” he could hear the girl say when they were further down the hall. Booster took comfort in Ted’s spluttered laughter echoing back towards the classroom.

\---

To be honest, Ted despised bowling.

He found no joy in sliding across too-waxed wood in shoes other people have worn to wrench his shoulder out throwing a ceramic ball at some wooden pins. He was there for the people, grudgingly getting up to get an inevitable gutter ball every few minutes.

The graduate student nursed his beer as he watched his friends compete, the members of Xi Lambda Iota already betting their paychecks on who would win.

His own paycheck was riding on Barda. She had a pretty killer underhand.

Said woman had already earned herself another strike and was currently stealing a kiss from her long-term boyfriend. “It’s a luck thing,” she insisted as the other girls teased them kindly. “Every strike, I get a kiss, and I make another strike, and get another kiss. I can’t lose!”

Ted tuned out as Bea tried to undermine her fraternity brother’s logic, his eyes back on the bowling alley’s entrance. The event hadn’t been going on for very long yet, but Booster had yet to show up. He didn’t want to seem too eager, but he’d been considering skipping the event in favor of grading papers until Booster had agreed to come…

He chewed his lip, toying with the now-empty plastic cup in his hands. Why was he so fixated on the kid, anyway? Sure, he was attractive, but that didn’t mean much. Was it the cocky attitude? Something below the cockiness that Ted’s subconscious could see and wanted to see better? It was probably just because he was hot, and Ted was always falling for the ones out of his league.

He could feel his thoughts sliding into a downward funk and cut that train of thought off quick. Self-doubt be damned; the golden-haired boy was the one who’d been making moves on  _ him _ . Maybe Barbara was right about him having a chance with the undergrad…

Ted was still zoned out and staring at the door when it swung open, a blast of late-summer night heat stealing away some of the AC’s chill for just long enough to catch Ted’s attention as Booster and his roommate walked in.

_ Be cool, be cool _ , his mind chanted uselessly as he caught Booster’s crystal-blue gaze, grinning as he waved the two over. “Hey!” he greeted, catching the attention of the other possible recruits and his fraternity brothers. “Glad you could make it.”

“Me too,” Booster agreed, noticing the others watching them. He yanked Guy a little closer to the group, causing the other football player to yelp and flail momentarily. “I brought him along; hope that’s alright.”

“The more the merrier,” another voice from behind Ted supplied. One of the brothers stepped up next to Ted, hand outstretched toward the newcomers. “Max Lord, chapter President.”

“Booster Gold,” the golden boy introduced, taking Max’s hand and nodding toward his roommate. “That’s Guy.”

Guy grunted a greeting to Max, who grinned a the two of them.

“Great. And, while this is a recruitment event, don’t feel pressured to put yourself down as a yes yet. Final signs isn’t until Monday. Hang out as long as you want, get to know the brothers…” He glanced between Ted and Booster, his gaze putting the graduate student on edge until he was concentrating on Booster again. “Beer’s free tonight with an ID.”

He walked away after that, the rest of the fraternity returning to their games as well. Guy immediately made his way past Booster and Ted, making a beeline for Tora, Bea, and Barda as the three began to set up a new game.

“You two joining?” Tora asked the two of them, punching their names into the little display.

Ted was shaking his head as Booster responded with an enthusiastic, “Hell yeah!”, pausing when he realized Ted wasn’t in agreement. “What, think you’re gonna lose?”

_ Yes _ , Ted thought.  _ Yes I do, and every previous game could back me up _ , but he found himself scoffing, shaking his head. “Just thought I’d take myself out, give you all a chance to win.”

Luckily for him and his ego, Booster didn’t hear Barda’s scoff or Bea’s laughter at the statement. “Let’s make this interesting then,” the younger man proposed. “If I win, you buy me a beer.”

“And if I win?”

Booster shrugged. “Coffee sometime? I’m still a few years short on the whole ‘legal drinking age’ thing.”

Ted pretended to consider the offer before agreeing. “You’re so on.”

Booster’s smile was perfect and sunny like the rest of him. A beer or two couldn’t compare to the price of a smile like that.

 

In the end, however, neither of them won a game. As expected, Ted’s score was barely above single digits and, while Booster had come close to winning once or twice, they’d been playing against the rest of XLI, and they all took the game much too seriously to let a recruit win.

“Does beating your score in every round count as a win?” Booster teased as he sat down next to Ted with a plate of nachos in his hands. The other brothers had slowly begun to leave after the last game; Ted was sticking around to drive people back to campus, and Booster was waiting for Guy to give up on flirting with both Bea and Tora at once. “I mean, not that you made it much of a challenge.”

“Shut up,” Ted groaned, stealing a nacho before Booster could protest, using his full mouth as an opportunity to think of what to say to the blue-eyed beauty. “I guess it counts,” he relented. “But I wouldn’t waste that on the beer here. I can buy you something better another time.”

Booster had frozen with a nacho halfway to his mouth, the toppings slowly sliding off the chip as they both processed what Ted had offered. “Did. Did you ask me out for a drink?” he asked after a moment, and the pause had given Ted enough time to panic.

“I mean, if you want to? Yeah? I mean, I guess we can’t really go to a bar but I can pick something up sometime or something- or I can just buy you one here but this really isn’t the best place for a drink-”

Booster nudged his shoulder to shut him up, the sunshine smile back on his face. “Give me your phone.”

“What?”

He held out a hand. “Phone, genius. Gimme.”

Ted did so and Booster snatched it up, typing his contact info in and sending himself a text. “Now you’ve got my email and my number,” he explained. “I better hear more about that drink.”

Ted just nodded, awestruck as he took his phone back and Booster got up to leave, finally dragging Guy away from the girls and heading out the door with a backwards glance and a small wave. He returned the wave before grabbing his keys, turning back to his friends.

Tora and Bea were wearing matching smirks, giggling between the two of them. The longer they stared at Ted, the brighter red he could feel his face becoming. “What?” he insisted, and they laughed.

“A freshman, really?” Bea snickered. “You sure he’s even eighteen?”

“Shut up,” he whined, face burning even more as he thought about what she’d said. “He’s definitely eighteen. From what I’ve seen of his work so far, there’s no way he’d come to college earlier.”

“His work? He’s one of Professor Garrett’s students?” Tora questioned. “Is that like sleeping with a professor or are TAs an exception?”

“I don’t know,” he muttered. He hadn’t thought about that, either… “Look, he’s a good guy, and he’s legitimately interested in pledging-”

“It definitely doesn’t hurt that you’re here,” Bea pointed out.

“We’re dropping this or you’re both walking home,” Ted threatened uselessly as the two girls walked past him, continuing to tease him as they made their way to the parking lot.

\---

                                                       Ted

                I was serious about that beer

Gold ☆

And here I was, thinking you’d

handed me a fake phone.

Gold ☆

Does that beer come with a time and

place?

                                                       Ted

               How’s next weekend? Give my

        ego some time to recover from the

                             tragic bowling losses

Gold ☆

It’s a date

Gold ☆

I mean not a DATE date

                                                       Ted

                                                  A date?

                                                       Ted

                        Right yeah no not a date

Gold ☆

I mean

Gold ☆

Right.

Gold ☆

So…

Gold ☆

Plz explain this prompt??? It makes

NO sense I demand you help.

                                                       Ted

        HAHA ok what one did you choose

\---

It was Wednesday again before the two had the chance to talk in person. Sure, they’d seen each other in class that Monday, but Ted had been busy teaching for the once-again absent Professor Garrett, and had let the class go early when he had gotten a call from one of the science lab monitors. Apparently something he’d been working on had malfunctioned…

Booster wasn’t honestly sure what had gone down. Ted had been in too much of a hurry to deal with the problem to really explain it to the class. It didn’t matter much, anyway.

Professor Garrett was back, it was Wednesday, and Booster’s insides were rebelling once again at the thought of another grade. He was doing decently in his other classes, mainly because there had yet to be any large exams in any of them, but Garrett’s weekly prompts were killing him slowly.

The professor handed Booster his paper, and he almost didn’t take it, recoiling slightly at the post-it note stuck on the front page.

_ Talk to me after class _

That couldn’t be good…

Booster peeled the stickie note off of the page, wincing at the grade it revealed underneath: D-. Booster winced, shoving it into his notebook with last week’s D. That wasn’t even  _ fair _ ! He’d actually  _ tried  _ this week…

He let his head fall onto his open notebook, where it remained until Professor Garrett dismissed the class.

When enough students had filtered out, Booster made his way to where the professor was standing, talking to another student as Ted tried to wipe the lesson off the blackboard . The two finished their conversation quickly, and Garrett offered Booster a smile as the student left.

“You wanted to see me?” Booster asked, hoping his voice was stronger than he felt.

The professor nodded, motioning for Booster to sit. Ted slowed on his erasing, eavesdropping, but Booster couldn’t bring himself to care.

Professor Garrett just eyed Booster for a moment, reading him as Booster shifted uncomfortably under his stare. “How’re you liking campus life?” he asked after a moment of silence, the question throwing Booster momentarily.

“Uh. It’s fine, I guess.”

“Settling in well? Getting involved?”

“Yeah, kinda…” Booster trailed off. “Professor, is this what you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Oh, no.” Garrett shook his head. “Just thought I’d try to ease into the conversation.”   


“If it means anything, blunt works just fine.”

“Perfect. You’re failing.”

Booster’s stomach hit the floor. “What?” he croaked.

“You’re failing,” Garrett repeated. “For now. I mean, it’s still early in the semester, but the weeks go by faster than you’d think. It’s better to catch this now than wait; I’d suggest you’d do the same with your other classes, but I only know how you’re doing in here.” He paused, letting Booster digest what he was saying. “Now, because it’s early, this is more of a warning than anything else. You’ve got more than enough time to get your grade up before I have no choice but to really fail you.”

“So what do I do?” Booster asked, feeling oddly desperate about his grades for the first time in his life. “Extra credit?”

“I don’t give extra credit.”

“Then what?” Booster tried not to sound as frustrated as he felt. “Look, Professor, I’m trying, really. I’m just not great at- at…” He waved his hands around vaguely. “Y’know, school. In general. Especially essays…”

Garrett nodded, humming softly. “Well, luckily for you, there is a tutoring program on campus-”

“Tutoring?”

“-unfortunately, I forgot to sign up to request tutors for this semester…” At least the older man had the sense to look a little ashamed. Ted’s scoff by the blackboard only seemed to add to the expression. “So instead, I’m assigning Mr. Kord here to tutor you for the time being.”

The clatter of the blackboard eraser caught both Dan and Booster’s attention, the two of them turning toward a shocked Ted.

“In hindsight, I probably should have told him first,” the professor hummed, earning a ‘we’re talking about this later’ glare from his TA. “Right now, I’ve got a meeting to get to. I’ll let you two hash things out from here.”

The two were silent, staring at each other until Dan packed up and left. Immediately, Ted groaned, dropping to his knees to grab the fallen eraser. “Dude…”

“You don’t have to,” Booster said quickly. “Tutor me, I mean. I can see if Guy or someone else can help me or something; I know you’re not really a tutor-”

“It’s fine,” Ted cut him off quickly, offering him an awkward little smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I don’t tutor, but I know this course as well as Dan does, if not better.” He paused, shrugging. “Plus, we’ve already got a time set up…”

Right. The beer. Booster couldn’t help but grin, the lead in his stomach turning to butterflies as Ted smiled back. From a drink to a study date… He couldn’t really complain.  
  
“So… Saturday?”


End file.
